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Letter: Apply the sales tax fairly

One thing the state of Minnesota should do to both increase its revenue and help level the playing field for existing business is to close the existing loopholes in the sales tax law.

To allow Minnesota taxable merchandise to be purchased online or through catalog sales tax-free just because it is across state lines is both unfair to existing state businesses and a huge loss of revenues for the state.

News reports from last Christmas season alone stated that approximately 40 percent of Christmas shopping was done online. This alone cost the state many millions of dollars in sales tax losses, with the remainder of the year at least an equal amount.

The present laws put in-state business at an automatic 7 percent disadvantage on like merchandise from out-of-state sources.

In this age of computers, it's not unreasonable to require out-of-state warehouses to collect and reimburse the state of Minnesota once or twice a month the required sales tax.

Just think what a 40 percent increase in potential business for those stores dealing in primarily taxable items would do to our local economy, jobs and the tax base, plus lower prices for all of us due to reduced overhead per unit sold.

If a state votes in a sales tax then it should be fairly applied to everyone.